Doughnut company takes “One Step Ahead” and focuses on understanding and improving customer experience

Doughnut company takes “One Step Ahead” and focuses on understanding and improving customer experience

Doughnut retailer Krispy Kreme UK has extended its customer service strategy by adding a feedback programme to measure the experience of real customers at its UK retail outlets.

The company has introduced a customer experience management (CEM) programme with provider Empathica across its 50-strong UK store estate.

Real customers with real views

“We wanted to move towards a customer feedback programme focussed on the actual customer’s views and needs,” said Judith Denby, chief marketing officer for Krispy Kreme. “Using Empathica’s expertise and technology to gather feedback from our customers allows us to refine our products, packaging, the way they are promoted and signposted instore, and improve on all aspects of the Krispy Kreme experience.”

Guests are prompted to complete an online feedback survey via bespoke invitations actively handed out by store staff featuring prominent quick response (QR) codes that push users directly to an online survey page. Respondents are asked a tailored set of questions specific to their experience, with the insights being fed back directly to relevant Krispy Kreme teams, from individual stores to the brand level.

Developing an essential business tool

Denby continued: “The new programme, which we’ve called ‘One Step Ahead’ internally, is designed to ensure that our customers continue to get exceptional service and to identify ways in which we can improve and evolve their experience. Gathering feedback on this scale has quickly become an essential tool for our business, both in terms of generating insights and recognising our employees when they exceed our customers’ expectations.”

The Empathica system is programmed to recognise customers that have had a positive experience, and simultaneously delivers employee specific feedback alert to the location manager, as well as prompting the customer to share that experience with their social media networks via Empathica’s patent-pending advocacy engine GoRecommend.

Denby added: “We also use GoRecommend to promote our range of social media assets, in addition to amplifying customer recommendations. It is hugely motivating for our teams to see customers recommending their particular store, in addition to the brand as a whole.”

The May/June 2012 issue of Retail Technology magazine featured an exclusive interview with Rob Hunt, Krispy Kreme joint managing director. Click here to register for access to the e-version and read about the strategic role technology-based systems play within the company’s operations.